Ashes of Crown end Claws

Chapter 2

The cold wind blew through the torn curtains of a small cottage in the deeper part of Orin kingdom. A place far away from the main kingdom, a small village.

The cottage stood alone, a little distance from the forest everyone dreaded.

It’s cold and eerie atmosphere became a nightale for every child in the kingdom. It was true that they said offenders are being thrown into the forest as punishment but still, half of the village didn’t believe it. Until-

People began to disappear one after the other.

They hoped it would last a day or two. Now, it’s been years and generations since the beast that had treaded the forest became a part of the kingdom’s history.

No one, not even the magicians of the land have been able to counter the beast, especially not humans.

Was it a curse? Was it a spirit beast? No one knew, all they saw each day was the decreasing population of the kingdom.

Despite the fear of the forest, that small cottage stood still, in the stinging cold of the morning. Birds chirping on the trees and the whistling of the wind tore through the skin of the sleeping lady in the cottage, wrapped in clothes enough to keep her through the cold night.

She turned around on the bed, her eyes slowly meeting the curtains flowing in the wind. She got up soon enough, her feet landed slowly on the cottage’s wooden floor. Next to her, was her little sister, Imara.

She got up and draped a red winter scarf over her neck and wrapping herself in a black cloak, slipping her hands in a pair of gloves and putting on a pair of boots, she left for her daily routine.

She traveled a distance with a basket. Lost in thoughts, she kept her eyes on the ground then she heard her name called from a distance

“Lumina!” the village girls called from the other side of the road. Lumina’s face lit up as she crossed over

“We’re headed to the river, come with us” the brown haired girl said

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to meet gran Calista”

“Oh well, did you hear about the missing child?”

“Another one?” the other girl shouted

“It happened at night too. What if the beast is back?”

“That’s scary, why won’t anyone do anything about the beast? Are we all going to die like this? Soo when the beast sees no one else, it’d come for us” she clung unto Lumina “Are you even listening?” she asked

Lumina snapped out of her thoughts and gave a smile “We’ll be fine. I have to hurry now" she said and waved them bye.

Lumina still couldn’t get her mind of the constant nightmare she’d been having for years. Dreams were not always consistent until one day when she had the nightmare and since then, things have changed.

A dream that kept her thinking all day, terrified and anxious that her body refuses to respond seconds after waking up. It’s like she was being held down by her nightmare.

Lumina arrived at an old house, she took a deep breath before walking through the gates

“Gran Calista? I’m here” she announced before setting down her basket

“Lumina, I wasn’t expecting you to be here” the old woman came out of her house

“What about your flowers? Someone has to take care of them” she knelt before the garden to tend to the flowers.

Lumina had spent some years with Calista, tending to her flowers and going about other tasks in the village. According to what Calista had told Lumina, Lumina’s mother had left her with Calista since she was born and she had promised to raise her till the day she dies.

But Calista on the other hand knew that tale was a lie. She had no idea of how to explain it to Lumina and even if she did, she didn’t want Lumina to leave after hearing they were never related.

“I’m going to get vegetable from the market, do you want anything?” Lumina asked

“Go on dear, I have enough” Calista said

“Take care of yourself” Lumina placed a gentle kiss on Calista’s face before leaving with her basket.

Lumina had never been normal since the day Calista found her. She flet someone always watching and following her but she couldn’t see but somehow she felt safe when that presence was there.

She’d seen it in her dream but it was just like her, just a lot more celestial. Like a guardian, it’s always there with her even when she convinced herself it wasn’t.

Lumina walked through the market with some items in her basket already, it was going to rain then she hurried hoping to be done before it starts pouring. During the rush, she bumped into a stranger

“Goodness! I’m sorry" the other lady apologized, packing up Lumina’s goods.

“I wasn’t paying attention. Here’s your book” Lumina looked briefly at the old book before handing it back to the lady. She picked up her basket when the rain began to pour

“Well I guess I have to go through it again” she walked ahead then paused when she saw a plank over her head

“We can use this together” the previous lady said. Lumina replied with a smile and left with the lady till they found a shade

“Are you new in town?” Lumina asked

“I’m a traveler but somehow I got lost and can’t find my mates” she looked around.

“It doesn’t look like the rain will stop anytime soon” Lumina stretched her hand out in the rain

“If you don’t mind, my cottage’s down the road, just a little walk” she said

“Really? you don’t mind?” the lady’s face lit up.

Soon, they arrived back at Lumina’s cottage, the lady changed into dry clothes while Lumina put their clothes out to dry.

“You have a…nice place” the lady said.

Lumina looked back from the clothes

“Thank you”

“I’m Aveline” she said

“Lumina”.

They sat out on the cottage porch watching the little droplets of the rain from the roof.

“what was that book I saw with you?” she asked

“Oh that? It’s a research book. I’m not supposed to tell anyone but, we’re travelers hoping to help the village from the beast everyone talks about” she whispered

Lumina leaned closer

“You believe it?” she asked

“Of course” she swung her leg, her head lowered “The beast killed my little sister years ago” she said

“Oh, I’m so sorry” Lumina held her hands together

“But it’s fine, I’m sure we can stop whatever is troubling everyone” she said

“But, this beast had been for years, for decades, before I was born, how would you know how to kill it?” Lumina asked.

“That was the same thing I asked until I found the book and the rest of my mates” she got up “Come on, I’ll show you something”, she took Lumina into the cottage.

They sat by the fire while Aveline showed Lumina some things in the book, they talked for hours alongside her little sister till it was evening and darkness began to cover the earth.

“Then why has no one found this book for years?”

“I don’t know either. But now that we found it, it should be easy” she gave a smile.

Aveline stayed with Lumina and her sister for the night next to the fireplace, curiosity and fear of what might come in her dream made her stay up all night with Aveline to talk about the beast and what it had done over the years.

A day turned to weeks with Aveline in Lumina’s cottage. Together, they went about the day with the never ending talk about the tiger and the solution. They grew closer each day to even doing little things together.

Gran Calista, as she’d always warn Lumina about staying in doors as soon as the moon leaves the sky, never to step foot outside. It was a general warning that guarded the village

“Why?” Aveline asked

“The beast is rumored to come out at that time but I’ve never seen it. Even when I peeped through the window, nothing came out. It’s beginning to sound like lies to me” Lumina said

“It’s not a lie, listen to your grandma" she said.

Evening fell and the two ladies headed to the bathhouse. While they sat in a bath, Lumina’s blonde hair fell over her shoulder, she slender neck and chiseled collarbone sticking above the water

“Do you always leave your sister at home?” she asked

“Yeah, she knows where safety is”

“Safety?”

“There’s an underground room I dug myself, I keep her there each time the beast is rumored to come out” she said.

Aveline laughed

“That’s funny but wise”.

They walked home with a candle light held before them, the withered leaves crushing beneath their feet as they took each step towards the cottage.

They arrived home in time, closed every door and locked the windows. Imara, her sister went into the safety room while the two ladies took the bed in the upper room.

Like every normal night, they slept, again- the dream came to haunt her.

She’d always find herself in front of huge iron gates bound with ancient heavy chains with a lock on it. What bothered her wasn’t the gate, it was that she was always behind the gates.

She turned around in the dark forest, a dark path without trees called convincingly to her but she refused to move, she held still to the gates, her heart hammering against her chest.

The air around grew gradually tense and cold, she narrowed her eyes to the dark, then she saw it. Those predatory eyes in the dark. Lumina took to her heels as far as her legs could go, she ran through the bushes, through tall trees in the forest.

She could see it through the shadows, it’s a huge figure running behind the bushes.

The roots of a tree crossed her legs, dashing her hard against the floor. She looked around anxiously, her heavy breathing echoed in her head when suddenly, the giant, terrifying cat jumped out of the dark with a loud roar. Lumina screamed then-

she woke up.

Her eyes shot open, her chest rose and fell, sweat dripping down her face like she had just run a thousand miles. Her body refused to move, not even a finger moved for a while, she closed her eyes, her brows creased then her leg jerked.

A sigh of relief oozed from her mouth. Only then did she realize-

Aveline wasn’t next to her anymore

“Aveline?” she called softly as she got out of bed. Lumina checked the safety room and saw her sister sleeping soundly, she locked the room with a lock then went out to look for Aveline

“Aveline?” she called then heard a rustling sound outside.

Lumina froze, she crawled towards the door and opened it slightly to look around, she saw no one

“Aveline?” she whispered. The snarling of an animal tore through the silence of the night. Lumina’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes lowered to the ground, she saw the shadow of a four legged creature. She shut the door immediately, turning the lock.

She hurried to the other side of the house then met Aveline

“What are you…”, Lumina immediately put her hand over Aveline’s mouth. She hushed her

“The beast is outside” she whispered. Aveline could see the panic all over Lumina’s face, they crawled quietly over the wooden floors towards the room.

“Lumina, the window”, Aveline pointed at the raised curtain

“Get Imara, I’ll put it down” Aveline said.

Lumina opened the safety room and hushed her sister before lifting her out of the deck. Then-

A loud crash followed by a scream.

“Lumina! Run” she yelled. Lumina saw the claws of the beast through the wooden door. Aveline pulled her along to the other exit of the cottage, outside into the woods.

“Lumina” Imara’s voice shook

“It’s fine, we’ll run away” she said. They ran through the woods away from the house, looking back at each second, hoping the tiger wasn’t there.

After a long run, they stopped

“Where are we?” Lumina looked around helplessly.

“I don’t know either” she ran to the other way, Lumina followed. A distant roar echoed through the woods. They arrived at two pathways

“I only know the way to this one" Lumina pointed to the left.

The ran towards the left, in the darker part of the woods, leading to the forest. The deeper they went, the darker it got

“Lumina? Isn’t this the forest people don’t come out from?” Imara asked

“We’ll come out Imara, we lost the beast already” she walked ahead

“A gate?” Aveline paused

“What?” Lumina’s face paled, her hand went cold instantly “There was never a gate here” she looked around

“We’re trapped” Aveline said.

A roar! They looked behind they and saw a branch charging at them from the dark. They fell sideways

“Go around the gate, Lumina” Aveline ran to the right while Lumina went through the left.

She ran endlessly as she thought. The gate looked familiar, a little bit too familiar.

Her pace lowered when she remembered. It was that gate, the same gate. She looked behind her, the same gate from her dream.

She ran ahead and soon, the path gained light gradually. She paused and saw the village ahead

“The village, Lumina!” Imara pointed ahead

“What about Aveline?” she looked behind her.

Lumina set Imara down, she knelt before her

“Go to the village, get help” she said to her sister

“What about you?” tears began streaming down her face

“If you get help then Aveline and I would be safe” she said. Imara nodded before running off.

Lumina looked around and soon found the gates again. She didn’t know if she was behind the gates or before the gates. She held the cold bars and shook it violently.

She turned around searching for a rock to break the lock

“Lumina” a distant call from the gates.

She saw Aveline running towards her.

“You found your way, open up” she said

“I don’t know how, it has a lock” Lumina shook the gates again. Aveline searched around for rock, taking some steps back. She smiled when she found one

“I found one, Lumina” she picked it up and looked at Lumina.

Then-

She felt it.

The atmosphere changed. The air felt little and tighter like it was closing it on her. It felt colder than usual. She swallowed then the rock dropped from her hands, her hands fell to her side.

A smile, not just a smile, a smile of defeat

“It’s behind me, isn’t it?” she asked, her ears picking up the snarl of the beast.

Lumina’s eyes froze on the giant beastlike cat closing in on Aveline, its predatory eyes fixed on her as drool fell from its hung mouth, its mouth barely closing in on its teeth. Lumina looked down at her hand.

A key.

“Save me” a tear dropped from Aveline’s eyes.

Lumina reached for the lock immediately, attempting to open it, for the first time, the presence that had been with her for years finally showed.

It grabbed her hand

“No, Lumina” she said. Lumina struggled to break free

“No! let me go!” Lumina struggled.

The voice of the celestial came softly

“Look” he pointed at Aveline who had dropped to her knees in defeat and acceptance of fate

“If you open the gates now, the beast will come for you” she said “And Imara hasn’t gone far” she said and vanished immediately.

“Lumina!” Aveline cried out the second before the beast dug its teeth into her neck.

“Aveline!” Lumina screamed, dropping to her knees as the tiger devoured her. Aveline’s eyes, fixed on Lumina at a distance

“Save me” she said with her last breath, the snarling of the beast being the last thing she heard, Lumina blurred out at a distance.